Mekuti Behaviour and Training Solutions

19/06/2024

Many of you will know that I'm a passionate advocate of the Five Minute Rule for puppies.

Pups need around 5 minutes exercise a day for each month that they grow, so at 3 months they need 15 minutes a day, and 6 months 30 minutes exercise a day. This continues until they reach maturity, or they start to show signs of what they are getting is enough.

My Meg could only cope with 20 minutes a day. She showed me that she couldn't cope with any more when her behaviour took a rapid nosedive when I gave her too much.

Tweaks need to be made when you take your pup to training classes by giving them a day of rest the following day.

It's not only their bones that need to mature but also their brain and chemistry.

15/01/2024

When Floss first landed as a very shut down hound we created a safe space at the end of a sofa for her away from us where she could get used to the sights, sounds, smells and rhythms of our home. I decided against a crate as I wanted her to know that she had the option to move away if needed rather than being enclosed on 3 sides with no real escape route.

Do you know what she did?

She slept almost solidly for 3 months.

3 months of decompressing, of only stirring to go out (thank goodness she was good about having her lead put on), to eat and to go nose-to-nose with Mutley.

It was only then that I saw a change in her when she started to engage with her surroundings and to trust that her space truly was her space.

Seeing the effect of uninterrupted rest and sleep I started to advocate that anyone introducing a rescue to their home allows them time and space to decompress, especially if they've been in kennels. You know when they are ready for further work and therapy.

Rest is a great healer.

29/12/2023

I've been re-thinking my already gentle approach to working with animals.

You see, back in August Floss' leg broke badly (lurcher, made of sticks and paper). It had to be plated but it was very unstable for a number of reasons. Thus a 6 month recovery time was the aim.

It's been a challenge, not so much on her ability to move and all of the rehab, but the constant danger of her re-breaking the tibia.

She's been fabulous throughout and we have become so much closer than we already were, and she trusts me to make good decisions. But, I realised that over the years that we've been together I've made more decisions for her than were absolutely necessary because of her anxiety levels.

With her having spent so much time recovering she had mislaid her confidence outside and her hard earned ability to cope with people had diminished leaving her reversing into the road if she saw anyone approaching (don't panic, we live in a small village on a quiet road).

I was reminded by a friend and the person who had fostered Floss before we found each other, that she is a whole lot more resilient than I give her credit for.

What a brilliantly timed and appropriate reminder.

I have changed how I handle her. I've always been respectful and light with her and helped her to find escape routes (on lead) then get her away from the source of anxiety quickly, but now once she's started to show signs of anxiety (I can see her head turning slightly from side to side) and if it's safe to do so, I will lengthen her lead to give her thinking space and place a couple of fingers very lightly on her back.

I will ask to lead her to a safe place, but the touch on her back keeps a little of her focus on me and she's able to follow more calmly.

It's all incredibly subtle, but after a couple of weeks of doing this she is more responsive to the situation, less reactive to the trigger, and is able to look to me to help find solutions.

Essentially, I'm no longer making decisions for her.

She has incredible strength in her complete gentleness, and seeing her grow in each challenge she is presented with fills me with such joy.

To use the full length of the lead with no tension in it (holding tightly on one end just in case she does bolt) which gives her thinking space and keeps her balanced on the ground, and a very light touch somewhere on her back (often over the hips to help her move her balance back if she's on the fore) has got her to the point where she is clearly making decisions about how to tackle different situations.

A few days ago she walked into a friend's house and found a place to settle much closer to people than she'd ever been before.

These are all foundations that can be built upon, and that is what makes working with animals such a joy. What we learn from them can be applied to how we approach people too.

(Picture is Floss on my local beach where she was off-lead for the first time in four and a half months).

29/09/2022

We fully support Royal Mail workers in their attempts to get a fair deal, and their strike action to get it will affect our ability to get equipment to you as quickly as normal.

Royal Mail have made a commitment to get as many of the 24 hour tracked items delivered as possible, but there is no guarantee.

Demetri will be doing all that he can to ensure things run smoothly, but if it doesn’t, please be gentle with him!

The following shows which areas of their business will be striking:-

12/09/2022

Remembering our Mutley who died over the summer.

Muts was a character in every sense and he adored Demetri - it was absolutely right that they stayed together in Leeds when I moved back to Pembrokeshire earlier this year.

He taught us so much about patience with his inability to approach other dogs using a language they understood - he was true lurcher in thinking that screaming like a banshee would make him friends (and that was all he wanted).

Mutley was described as a “frustrated greeter”.

Holy wotsits! Those were not the words that I used at times as I held the end of his lead…broken toes and a broken finger resulted from poor management at my end of the lead. There was never any malice, always enthusiasm, oh, and an icy cold wet nose too.

Mutley is much missed, and this has obviously been hardest on Demetri who has had much to contend with this year, but still he manages to keep your orders coming out in the best way he can, accompanied now by Moley, office cat, Mail-room supervisor and cuddler extraordinaire.

Mutley, thank you for the memories, the random bin-raids, the cat-food thefts, for loving the boys the way you did, and for being such an awesome friend to us all.

(Picture by Demetri)

09/09/2022

Mekuti shares the sadness at the passing of HRH Queen Elizabeth II and recognises her deep affection for her companion animals.

Often photographed close by her corgis and horses, it is clear that they transcended the obligations of duty and deference between humans to share the most personal moments of openness, love, respect towards each other on an equal basis like no other. Any guard of self-awareness melts away and the feelings shown are genuine and mutual.

Our Queen was in every sense a great lady.
May we all live long to remember her and be guided by her example.

18/07/2022

Everyone needs to see this ahead of the coming days 👇

20/01/2022

It seems that the web pixies are rebelling and the Mekuti website is down. Demetri has been working on it and hopes to get it sorted by the morning.

Our apologies for any inconvenience.

09/10/2021

This is important. Trading of pets needs to be regulated, Reggie’s Law hopes to do just that but for it to be discussed at Parliamentary level more signatures are required.

If you can make a couple of minutes to do just that you may help to elicit change.

💞🐕 PETITION UPDATE🐕
We have now reach 77,000 signatures on the petition-we need another 23,000 and we only have 61 days left. If we do not reach 100,000 our opportunity has then gone for to close the selling platforms to illegal breeders/sellers.
PLEASE ask your family, friends and work colleagues who do not use facebook to sign our petition, they only need an email address. Thankyou 👇
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/587654

24/05/2021

Never underestimate the tools at your fingertips.

Floss and I have been away for a few days and she managed to have a blast on the mudflats while there. She is poetry in motion when she moves (bear in mind a lot of her day is spent horizontal - such beauty takes careful planning behind closed eyes!).

I love watching her move so much that I took a slow motion video and I was shocked by what it revealed; her ability to extend her front legs was impeded.

Watch the video through and you’ll see her moving to extend her front legs out fully but then cutting it short. I know what her normal movement is as I have umpteen slow motion videos of her on the flats!

There was no other clue that anything was amiss beyond my having over walked her on our first day without any warm up.

Further investigation using TTouch has revealed that she cannot tolerate having her front left leg touched - at all!

Now I stroke her all over every day, it grounds her, and she has let me do so without an indication of discomfort because she knew it was fleeting and would pass.

TTouch is different.

It’s specific.

It remains in a zone for at least a second (unlike a stroke).

And she was clearly uncomfortable with the intensity of that light touch there having relaxed fully into a TTouch session over the rest of her body.

From this one holiday clip she now has the opportunity for some balancing work to help alleviate any discomfort, and potentially prevent a longer term issue developing.

The message is this, get slow motion video of your dog moving, find out what their “normal” is, and repeat periodically. It may help you identify something seemingly discreet and find a solution that both bonds and heals.

22/05/2021

Are you brave enough?

Guys, I promise this isn’t another usual my-dog-on-leash-other-dog-off-leash type of post. It gets good! (Or I think it does 🤣)

The other day I was on the local public park (not a dog park, but dogs are allowed) walking Menta. We were on a high movement area, so I had her on a leash. Another dog, off leash, sees us and starts approaching. Menta wasn’t interested and started moving away, but the dog got to us before we could leave. So she politely greeted him back, they sniffed for a few seconds, all perfectly good and fine. Dog was young and wants to play, so he offers a couple of very polite play bows, but Menta declines and moves away. Dog gets the message and moves on.
Quite good, right? Here comes the juicy part:
As I’m leaving owner comes to me with a speech more or less like this:
- Hey, if your dog is autistic and doesn’t even play with other dogs, go somewhere else! Don’t come to the park and ruin the other dogs’ days!!!!!

I heard this, a wave of fury started taking over, but suddenly I think I had a lightbulb moment and switched gears completely.

With the biggest, friendliest smile, I opened my arms as wide as I could and go:

- Ohhhhh! Come here! I want to give you a BIG hug!

*panic in her eyes as she backs up, speechless*

- Hey, don’t run, I’m so friendly, come on, I just want to give you a hug! I’m friendly, I just want to hug!!!

*still speechless and backing away with terror now*

- Wait? You don’t want my friendly hug?

-....no...

- neither does my dog. Have a nice day.

As I walked away, I saw her just standing there, speechless, and she was leashing her dog! 😅
I think I’ll try this approach more often 🤣

18/12/2020

Online loose lead walking training by Rachel Jackson. Worth watching.

Mini Module

13/11/2020

I’ll show you mine if you show me yours!

Flossie, sunning herself following an extended walk to the kitchen to check for droppages on the floor.

What’s your clan up to today?

11/11/2020

NDR, this lady makes beautiful pieces and may be worth considering for a gift at Christmas.

KateMichelle handcrafted, bespoke hand knitted jewellery, gifts and wedding accessories made in Dorest.

26/10/2020

Picking and packing as fast as we can following a week of the office being closed.

If anyone receives Eartha by mistake, there is a return address...😉

25/06/2020

Keep ‘em cool everyone.

It's not hard!

26/04/2020

Seriously.....

19/02/2020

For you Worcestershire, cat owning folk, here’s a TTouch workshop for you.

Our cats have all benefitted from TTouch and love it.

Get yourself booked on this workshop - very few cat workshops currently available.

11/02/2020

Would you help me? I need some measurements and pictures of your dog’s head to help with the development of a new product.

The measurements needed are:
1. Circumference of the head around the brow and under the chin (snug);

2. Circumference at the top of the neck.

Also a profile picture of your dogs head to ensure I can get the shaping correct.

Thank you, and feel free to share as the more dimensions I get of dogs large and small, the better the chance I have of designing something that will both fit well and be effective.

09/02/2020

06/02/2020

This will be special - working dogs need to be flexible in mind and body and TTouch can really support what they do and how they do it.

02/02/2020

Credit: Canine Arthritis

31/01/2020

Retractable leads - a fun look at them we can relate to.

28/01/2020

Please. All dogs.

27/01/2020

We have been beavering away today trying to catch up with our backlog of orders and messages. It’s still a work in progress, especially as our stock levels are now low! New stock arrives next week thankfully (and hopefully).

Thank you everyone for your patience; unwellness comes in many forms and some take longer to recover from, but we are working together and regrouping in the hope that our well oiled machine returns to its old glorious self soon.

The picture of Eartha is a shameless attempt to keep things light.

24/01/2020

Anaesthetising sighthounds can be risky, especially if you have a vet who is inexperienced in how they metabolise drugs (very little body fat appears to make a big difference). This research will be a big step forward.

Beautiful and fast-moving, sight-hounds also are at risk for inheriting gene mutations that can cause a life-threatening, slow recovery from anesthetic drugs. Learn more.

22/01/2020

Toni Shelbourne is an extraordinary person and teacher. She knows her stuff and understands animals; go and find out for yourself what TTouch is all about.

06/01/2020

Unlike other koala detection dogs who sniff out koala s**t, Bear is able to smell and lead rescuers to live koalas

02/12/2019

I’m asking for some gentleness please. Following the death of Demetri’s mother service has become, let’s call it patchy. Grief is an uncomfortable bedfellow and coping with angry customers who maybe don’t know of our situation is beyond challenging.

Demetri is doing all he can to get back on his feet, but on top of losing my mum and three very dear friends we really are on our knees emotionally.

Please, keep ordering, and let others know that we are doing our best if you hear anyone questioning Mekuti.

Service levels will be resumed fully when we are able. Meanwhile it’s a moment at a time.

I’m not after pity or sorrow, just understanding and gentleness with Demetri.

Thank you.

Thought you’d like a picture of our Floss who is part of the team helping us to be grounded.

11/11/2019

How amazing that someone has tapped into a dog’s ability to communicate.

"I just imagine how much deeper the bond will be."